St Jacob Elem School, Saint Jacob IL

Original Research by School Decision on St Jacob Elem School

St Jacob Elementary School serves preschool through fifth grade in Saint Jacob, a quiet residential village in southeastern Madison County. The school sits in the heart of the village, making it accessible to families living within this compact community of roughly mid-sized population that has grown steadily in recent years.

The school enrolls a modest number of students across its grade bands. Enrollment is distributed fairly evenly, with kindergarten through fourth grade each serving comparable cohorts and preschool and fifth grade somewhat smaller. The student body is predominantly white, with minimal racial and ethnic diversity. Economic data on free- or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the economic composition of the families it serves.

On the most recent state assessments, academic performance varies by grade and subject. In third grade, the school showed strength in English language arts, with a majority of students meeting or exceeding proficiency standards. Fourth grade shows lower performance in both subjects. Fifth grade presents a mixed picture: English language arts proficiency is strong and comparable to third grade, but mathematics proficiency drops notably, and science proficiency (the only grade at which science is tested in this school) is below the proficiency level shown in the lower elementary grades. Mathematics proficiency also declines noticeably as students move from third to fifth grade. When compared against other districts in Madison County, St Jacob Elementary's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a meaningful strength.

The school does not serve grades six through eight, so state testing results for middle school grades are not reported here; those students attend Triad Middle School.

Saint Jacob itself is a small village built around a historic railroad depot and the old St. Louis wagon road. The community has a rural edge, with short distances within the village but reliance on nearby Troy and Highland for most shopping and services. The village is on a growth trajectory, with new residential subdivisions such as Wendell Creek Estates and Castle Ridge adding single-family homes. Housing values are moderate, and the local economy is mixed white- and blue-collar, with most employment in construction, manufacturing, repair work, health care, and agriculture rather than any single dominant employer. Many residents commute to jobs in the broader St. Louis metropolitan area.

The school is part of Triad Community Unit School District 2, which has embarked on a major long-term investment. In April 2025, district voters approved a zero-rate-change bond referendum by a substantial margin to replace the aging middle school with a new building, expand career and technical education, add classrooms, build a new district auditorium at the high school, and update other facilities including this elementary school, all without raising the property tax rate. This represents a significant commitment to infrastructure and modernization for families considering a move to the area.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 60% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 462%

School 62% · District 57% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 54% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 64% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 66% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 75% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Science

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 60% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

This schoolTriad CUSD 2, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.